Sarah Woodham

Sarah Woodham as of 3/31/11, a photo by Nicole's Needlework on Flickr.

My latest progress pic. Sarah is slow going, but I'm trying to stay faithful!

Via Flickr:
40 ct. Vintage Pearled Barley, various (recommended) silk threads (1 over 2).

Sick of Ann Yet?

I stitched a couple more motifs last night.

40 Summer Khaki over-dyed with Tan Rit Dye, Recommended silk threads (1 over 2)

I got Sarah Woodham back out today. I really want to get it finished, especially after seeing Siobhan's beautiful finish!

A Little More Ann

I worked on Ann quite a bit this weekend. Well, not yesterday because I decided our little condo needed some spring cleaning. It amazing how fast the clutter piles up - especially with three boys running around! Anyway, here is my progress pic...

40 ct. Summer Khaki over-dyed with Tan Rit Dye, various silk threads (1 over 2).

I'm loving seeing all the Ann's out there in blog world. So far I've seen Sampler Lovers, Margaret's, and Deb's. They're all so pretty! I love seeing how they look from the top since I'm starting at the bottom. They give me inspiration to keep going! :)


P.S. I think that funky bird is actually a peacock, not a turkey.

Ann's House

I finished up Ann's House yesterday! Except, I just realized I have a row of 1/2 stitches in the roof. Oops! :) At least that's an easy fix.

I'm working on the funky looking bird now, which I think is a turkey. :) Thanks to all that have helped me clear out some stash! Write soon!

Ann Grant and a Giveaway

Sometimes I feeling I'm moving one step forward and two steps back. After the Frances Eden debacle I decided to get Ann Grant back out. I worked on it quite a bit over the weekend and then yesterday I realized I was a stitch off! I felt like crying and I felt like quitting! But I didn't do either. I just picked up my needle and started frogging. I'm back on track now and I love how it's looking!

40 Summer Khaki over-dyed with Tan Rit Dye, various silk threads (1 over 2)

Now on to the giveaway part! Merumo is hosting a wonderful giveaway to help the people of Japan. I think it's such a great idea for such a worthy cause! My thoughts and prayers go out to all the people in Japan who are suffering right now. I just can't even imagine what they are going through. It definitely makes my problems seem very small and trivial!!

Huge Mistake!!

As I was stitching Frances Eden last night, I noticed that it looked like I was running out of fabric. Sure enough, I had started on the wrong side of the fabric! I was so mad at myself! I ended up just cutting the stitched part off because there was no way I was going to be able to rip it all out. Here's where I left off...

I thought it was pretty funny that the only words I stitched were "thy work is done." I thought, "Yep, it's done alright!"

I might make what I stitched into something - not sure why yet. I may have cut it too close to do anything with (should have thought about that before cutting). Oh well, I'm not going to worry about it right now. I may start Susan Rambo to make up for it or get back to Ann Grant. I'm still deciding. I definitely don't want to restart Frances right now!!

Frances Eden

Well, like Donna mentioned in her comment, Sarah Woodham can be a little tedious. She is so right. I love the sampler, but I can only work on it for it so long! I ended up getting Frances Eden out of the wip basket for a change of pace. I just love this sampler. The bright colors are so much fun to stitch with!

40 ct. Vintage Homespun by Lakeside Linens, Vikki Clayton and NPI silks (1 over 2).

Thank you all for your kind words about the transfer. I'm really doing fine. I know we'll get down there eventually. :) Write soon!

A Basket and Sarah Woodham Progress

I got the basket for "Mrs. Waddelow's Needlework Basket" the other day. It's so pretty!

I have been floundering between projects a lot lately. I haven't really been able to settle on any one thing. After seeing Siobhan's gorgeous progress on Sarah Woodham, I decided to get my sampler back out. I'm going to try to concentrate on it for awhile.

40 ct. Vintage Pearled Barley, various silk threads (1 over 2).

Well, I think I'm going to take my son to the park this morning. It's such a beautiful day here in South Carolina. I might as well enjoy it as much as I can because it looks like we'll be staying here a little longer. My husband was trying to transfer down to Florida, but unfortunately it didn't go through. He'll try again the next time he's able (not sure when that will be). I'm trying to stay positive. I know things could be much worse. All I have to do is think of the people in Japan and realize how lucky I am.

Write soon! :)


ETA: I had couple people ask where I got the basket. I got it through this website - http://www.nathantaylorbaskets.com/product/2232AA. It's the 9 1/2" basket.

A Finish and a Get Together

I finished up Karen's Prairie Schooler block yesterday. It only took about nine months to finish!!

Prairie Schooler "Friends" (OOP unfortunately)
Fabric: 32 ct. Vintage Buttercream
Threads: DMC (2 over 2)

I had such a fun time in Manning on Saturday. It was great to see everyone again! I only took a few pics near the end.

Sorry, bad pic of mainly the backs of heads!

Faye holding up her stitching


I didn't get Karen, but I did get a shot of her stitching (Tree of Life by Goode Huswife)


My stitching buddies for the day, Donna and Judy, they are going to Victoria, British Columbia for the last Victoria Sampler retreat!

I'll definitely have to remember to take more pictures next time! Now, I need to get started on Amy or Faye's square. I need to keep going, so it doesn't take nine more months (I don't think they'd appreciate that too much)! :) Write soon!

Startitis

Yeah, I've got it bad.

First I was going through Hawk Run withdrawals, so I got out my Hawk Run patterns and decided on one...

40 ct. Vintage Sand Dune by Lakeside Linens, Needlepoint Inc. Silk (1 over 2)

I picked Village. I just love this design. I started it awhile ago, but was unhappy with the linen (36 ct.). I'm much happier now that I'm using 40 ct. Only ... I really didn't want to stitch that graveyard again, so I'm skipping it for now.

As I was browsing blogs yesterday, I came across Deb's blog. I saw that she started Ann Grant, which I've had kitted before it even came out! I just couldn't resist myself. I had a piece of 40 ct. Summer Khaki that I got at Down Sunshine Lane, so I dyed it with some Tan Rit Dye...

... And got to stitching!

I'm loving it!! This is one huge sampler though! It's going to take awhile! I'm also so tempted to start Susan Rambo, but I'm holding off for a just a bit. Not sure why - I think it's all the grass on the bottom (since I always start at the bottom). If those gorgeous flowers were on the bottom, I'm sure I would have started by now! :)

Well, I'm looking forward to stitching with all my friends in Manning on Saturday. It will be so great to see them. Maybe I'll bring Susan with me and start then. :) Write soon!

Decisions

I made a tiny bit more progress on Elizabeth...

And today I went to It's a Stitch to get some threads for Hannah Pepper. I just wasn't happy with a couple of the colors I converted. I ended up getting the AVAS for those.

So My final color list is...

AVAS - NPI
4116 - 905
3426 - 156
4146 - 587
2533 - 694
945 - 636 - 504 (last minute change)
2242 - Same
2236 - Same
3441 - 671
2914 - Same

Now, I can finally stop obsessing over Hannah! :)

I also decided on the main fabric for Mrs. Waddelow's basket and Huswif...

It's from the Bonnie Blue Basics line. I hope to get a few more colors to go with it one of these days.

Well, nothing really going on here. Just made dinner (turkey burgers and sweet potato fries) and now I'm going to stitch! Write soon!

ETA: This post was in my drafts, not sure why I never published it! I decided to go ahead and do it today, which is why it's just now showing up after all this time. :)

Stitching

I've been stitching quite a bit on Elizabeth Mears...

40 ct. Vintage Meadow Rue, NPS (1 over 2)

I also decided to start a couple new things. The first being Mrs. Waddelow's Needlework Basket. I finished up the ruler. I mainly wanted to see how the coverage would be using only one strand and I think it will be okay.

32 ct. Vintage Buttercream, Belle Soie "Sister Scarlet" (1 over 2)

The other thing I decided to start is "All Our Troubles" by La-D-Da. I have always loved this design and when I saw Cathy's progress on her blog the other day, I knew I had to stitch it.

40 ct. Examplar, NPS (1 over 2)

Well, it's been a difficult week for Lisa's family and friends. I know I have been up and down a lot. I'm so glad that I have you all and my stitching to bring me comfort and joy. Thank you for all your kind words. They really mean so much!

Playing With Stash ...

... Is therapeutic too.

With My Needle "Mrs. Trenner's Needlework Academy"


With My Needle "Mrs. Waddelow's Needlework Basket"


Sampler and Antique Sampler "1839 Susan Rambo Sampler"

My dear friend Tanya recommended this book ... Handbook for the Soul. I downloaded it on my Kindle and just started reading it. It's very good so far.

Therapy

It has been a very sad couple of days. Lisa was an amazing woman. I didn't know her long, but I am so glad I knew her for the amount of time that I did. She was so generous, so creative and so full of life. Words just can't express how much she'll be missed. My stitching has been here to comfort me - it's such great therapy.

I finished the May block (which I personalized for my dad) on Anniversaries of the Heart...

40 ct. Meadow Rue by Lakeside Linens, various cotton threads (1 over 2).

I also got Elizabeth Mears back out ...

40 ct. Vintage Meadow Rue by Lakeside Linens, NPI silks (1 over 2).

The soft colors are very soothing. Write soon...

Manning Stitch-In

Amy asked me to post this for her....

Just a quick reminder that we're having a stitching day in Manning, SC March 12th, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at The French Hens. The cost is $10 & includes lunch - payable directly to the French Hens - not to me! :-) If you have any questions - email me - amycspals@yahoo.com

Hope to see lots of you on the 12th....

Very Sad News

http://witchstitches0.blogspot.com/2011/03/this-is-lisas-daughter-mariah.html

My thoughts and prayers go out to Lisa's family and friends during this very sad and very hard time. She will be missed so much.